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Kate was making herself a cup of tea when Mark appeared like a shadow in the doorway.
“Um, hi. Sarah asked if you’ve got a key for us? And if you can recommend anywhere to have dinner?”
“Oh, sorry. I’ll grab the keys. I totally forgot.”
“No problem,” said Mark, pressing himself against the wall to let Kate pass.
Kate handed him the keys and ran him through the selection of pubs and restaurants in town.
“Thanks, and, ah, in your experience, which, ah, is the best, ah, value for money. And ah, do they have gluten-free options? Sarah’s trying to stay off wheat. Sorry.” Mark stood wringing his hands, his face a deep shade of red. Kate wasn’t used to people being ill at ease in her company. The poor chap looked as though he’d been sent into the lion’s den.
“Well, I’ve not actually lived here that long myself, so I’ve not had time to try many of the restaurants. Tell you what, I’ll give my friend a call. He’s a local, lived here most of his life. I’ll pop up and see you when he’s given me some more info.”
“Thank you. Ah, one last thing, um, Sarah wondered if, um, you had any extra, um, towels?”
“Oh, sorry, I thought I’d left them on the bed?”
“Um, you did, yes, um, but she likes to have one for the upstairs and one for the, um, downstairs.” Mark flushed furiously as he indicated precisely what he meant by upstairs and downstairs.
“Oh, OK, no problem. I’ll bring some extras up when I’ve got the restaurant info. Should only be a few minutes.”
“Great, thanks,” said Mark, shuffling out of the kitchen and up to the guest quarters.
Kate grabbed her phone and was just letting herself out into the garden when Mark appeared at her shoulder once more.
“Um, sorry to bother you again, but do you have the code for the Wi-Fi?”
“Yes, sure.” Kate scribbled the code onto a piece of scrap paper and indicated to the garden. “Back in a mo, I get a better signal out there.”
Mark gave her a shy smile and made his retreat upstairs. Kate swore her way up to the top of the garden. She prayed Bob had his phone on him and could help her out. She did a little victory dance after he answered on the second ring.
“Hi, you alright?”
Kate groaned. “What have I done? Bob, I’m so unprepared. I thought I’d got everything ready but I forgot to give them keys, and the Wi-Fi code. I didn’t even hear the door, they just let themselves in. They appeared outside my bedroom. Now they’re asking about value for money places to eat and gluten free options and I really don’t know what I’m doing. Help me!”
“Kate, calm down. Let’s go through this one step at the time. Do they have keys and the Wi-Fi code?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Are they pleased with their room?”
“Yes, once they’d got towels specifically for their genitals.”
“Sorry, what?”
“Doesn’t matter. Look, do you know anything about the restaurants or pubs in town? I don’t have a clue.”
Bob ran off a list of every eatery in town, good and bad points, those that had veggie options, those that catered for food allergies, those whose hygiene ratings were a lie and best avoided.
“Wow, I never knew there were so many places to eat here. Look, can you WhatsApp me the list ASAP? I don’t have anything to write with out here.”
“Where are you?”
“In the garden. I made an excuse about signal to come out here, which is sort of true except I could’ve Face-Timed you. I think I’ve made an error with the exposed floorboards. I can hear everything they’re doing through the ceiling. I could probably hear their conversations if I listened carefully enough. And that means they can also hear me, hence why I’m stood outside in the rain, talking to you.”
“Ah. Right, well, you get yourself back indoors and I’ll send you the restaurant pros and cons straight away.”
“Thanks.”
